Clemson’s comeback win over North Carolina had the obvious headline - a rally from an 11-point hole in the ACC opener - but the quieter shift came in the trenches. True freshman Grant Wise got his first meaningful run on Saturday, and Clemson’s offensive line looked different with him on the field.
Wise stepped in for redshirt sophomore Ronan O’Connell and handled the moment well for a player who had logged only eight snaps of college football before the game. The freshman held up better in pass protection, where O’Connell has had trouble, and he also gave the run game a boost after Clemson had managed only 41 yards on the ground before halftime. The backfield committee finished with 186 rushing yards overall.
After the game, Dabo Swinney didn’t hide how impressed he was with the freshman.
“He’s a stud, that’s why we recruited him,” he said in his post-game press conference. “We felt like he’d help us right away, and he’s emerging.”
Wise arrived in Clemson with a reputation that matched the early buzz. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman was a four-star prospect and ranked inside the top 15 among interior linemen in the 2026 class. At Pace High School in Florida, he started 45 straight games and put up staggering numbers: 485 pancakes, with zero sacks and zero pressures allowed.
His résumé also included a First-Team Rivals All-American selection as a senior and multiple MaxPreps All-American honors over the course of his high school career. Beyond football, he competed in wrestling and weightlifting, winning both Olympic and traditional weightlifting titles at Florida’s 3A state meet as a junior.
Swinney was already sold on him long before Saturday. On National Signing Day last December, he said, “I don’t know that we’ve ever signed a guy better than Grant Wise,” and added, "This is a beast of a man, like this is a guy that looks like he’s a senior in college right now.”
That early exposure fits the bigger plan Swinney has been pushing with the offensive line and the roster as a whole. He wants the younger players on the field now so they’re ready later.
“And that’s something we just went into the game like we want to build depth,” he continued. “It’s a long season, and we got to have some depth.
All of a sudden, you’ll look up, and you’re in game six or seven, and guys hadn’t played. So we’ve just committed ourselves to playing these guys that we think deserve to play; that are just going to get better, and you just have to play them.”
The state of Clemson’s offensive line has drawn plenty of criticism early in the season, and some fans have gone as far as calling for Matt Luke’s job. The portal was a missed opportunity, and that reality isn’t changing now.
But Luke has still done a lot of recruiting since arriving ahead of the 2024 season, bringing in nine four-stars over the last two seasons. The issue is that those players are young, and development only happens if they actually get on the field.
That’s the tension around this group: people want immediate answers, but the program is trying to grow them into solutions. Wise’s showing offered a glimpse of what that can look like. Swinney knows the rest of the room isn’t fully there yet, but he’s betting the process will pay off.
“Just like you play guys on the d-line, we have to get some of these guys experience,” the veteran coach finished. “Now, they’ve got to hold their own, and they are, and they’re earning more playing time, and it’s going to make us better as we go through the season.”
Clemson’s line still has a long way to go, but Wise’s debut suggested the answer may not be a wholesale overhaul. It may simply be time.
Redshirt freshman Easton Ware has already shown that kind of gradual progress while splitting time at right tackle with fifth-year Collin Sadler. And of course, there’s always the possibility that Wise is just different.
In Other News...
Clemson Heads To Its Next ACC Test With New Health Concerns
Clemson heads into its next ACC road test at California carrying a few more health questions than it would like this early in the week. The initial injury report lists multiple defensive starters as questionable, including nickel Corian Gipson and defensive tackle Devarrick Woods, a concerning note for a unit that has had to keep its depth in order as the season has moved along.
Gipson is still working back from a recent injury that limited his play, while running back Jay Haynes remains questionable as he recovers from an ACL tear. On the brighter side, quarterback Christopher Vizzina is listed as probable after dealing with elbow swelling, giving Clemson at least one key offensive piece a better chance of being available as it prepares for a long trip and another conference challenge. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Faces A Late-Night ACC Test That Could Expose Two Concerns
Clemsons first ACC road trip of the season sends the Tigers all the way to Berkeley on Sept. 25, where a late-night test against Cal will offer a cleaner read on where this team really stands. It is the kind of cross-country conference game that can sharpen a September rsum quickly, especially for a Clemson group still sorting out what travels well and what does not once it leaves home.
The matchup carries real pressure because both sides bring a clear identity into it, with Clemson looking to build on recent positive signs while trying to avoid the kind of defensive lapse that can turn a long trip into a long night. Cal also has enough offensive firepower to make this interesting, so the focus turns to how Clemson handles the road setting, the passing game, and the small errors that can decide a game like this before the fourth quarter even settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Dabo Swinney Just Put Clemsons Backfield Tension In The Spotlight
Gideon Davidsons breakout against North Carolina gave Clemson a much-needed jolt in the backfield, and it also helped clarify how the Tigers are sorting out carries behind center. Davidson handled 16 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown in the Week 3 ACC home win, while Chris Johnson Jr. was barely involved and finished without a yard. For a Clemson offense still trying to find the right rhythm, the distribution was hard to miss.
Dabo Swinney then made it clear the reduced role for Johnson was not just a matter of game flow. He said Johnson was benched for not following the play scheme, even as the freshman continued to help on special teams, and he also pointed to issues up front and the lack of depth at running back. That leaves Clemson with one obvious emerging option and a few questions about how stable the rotation really is once the Tigers get into the heart of league play. [Read more 🡒]